Mathematics Department Changes Grading Policies

By Izyaan Burney, Rishi Gurudevan, Roxane Park, Tanya Syed, and 145th NEWS EDITORS

A number of departments and instructors at the Academy have recently re-evaluated grading policies and department practices in response to concerns about grade inflation.

Discourse surrounding grade inflation and changes to grading policies have been ongoing amongst faculty for a decade and have recently picked up traction as departments began experimenting with new ideas and policies. Notably, the Math Department implemented a grading pilot program for winter term which eliminated test corrections and retakes for credit. Other departments, such as the History Department, have also discussed adjusting their grading policies. 

The Math Department specifically implemented the grading pilot for courses using the Math 2, Math 3-4, and Math 4-5 textbooks. In addition to the removal of retakes and corrections, the stipulations of the policy include that “at least 80 percent of a student’s grade will be computed using scores on in-class assessment,” whereas “20 percent of a student’s grade may come from take-home assessments, presentations, hand-ins or journals.” Every instructor is required to adopt the policy when computing a student’s final grade. 

Dean of Academic Affairs Laura Marshall explained that the grading policy was made in hopes of providing more stability for students. This comes as a result of Marshall receiving complaints from students that there are inconsistencies in practices from one teacher to the next, which has made the transition to new teachers at the start of each term challenging“Historically, in the Math Department, teachers develop their own policies on how to calculate grades,” Marshall said. “When I came to Exeter, most math teachers tested regularly every two weeks and the grade was based on that. There were exceptions, but for the most part, there was consistency across teachers.”

According to Marshall, teachers have been including other factors into grades such as participation, test corrections, retakes, and weekly quizzes in recent years.

In response, Marshall said that the Math Department agreed to provide more consistency this winter and claims that this agreement was made based on the “best learning practices, collective centuries of classroom experience, and current research. Ultimately, Marshall said that “the final grade should be a reflection of the mastery of mathematics.”

Although it was set in place to enhance students’ learning experiences, the pilot math departmental grading program has been met with much frustration from students. An anonymous prep said, “I think it’s very important to provide kids with the opportunity to assess their work and improve upon it, to [let them] get that satisfaction on getting those answers right, and…feel confident in their ability to do the problems.”

“[These changes] are prioritizing [grades] instead of students actually learning,” the anonymous prep continued. “[Corrections] really help[ed] me learn skills that I could carry on to the next term. If I didn’t get a problem, I could go back [and] look at it. But if there [were] no retakes, I don’t know if a student would [do that].”

Prep Abe Webb agreed, elaborating that the change in grading may have a greater negative impact on the student body. “[The change] is gonna hurt their grades and that’s gonna hurt their college chances as well,” Webb said. 

Upper Elizabeth Catizone acknowledged both the benefits and setbacks of the pilot policy. “I was in a class with a very generous corrections policy the term before they got rid of it altogether. I think that encouraged me to relearn material that I didn’t grasp on the test. Without corrections, I’m not as likely to go back and do that. However, I do study more the first time now, so I think there’s pros and cons to both ways and I don’t think that one emphasizes grades over the other.”

Senior Hope Flowers believes that the new policy may disincentivize struggling students from learning math. “I think [the change] will discourage students who are already struggling in math to just kind of stop really trying for the most part,” Flowers said. “Already with Harkness, there’s less incentive to ask questions in class. So, if you’re struggling and you do badly on one of the tests, it’s easy for you to throw your hands up and give up.”

At the same time, Flowers said that the change “goes 50-50 [where] it hurts some people, and helps others.”

“For math specifically, I think [the changes] will help certain students because a lot of students don’t really thrive in math in a Harkness setting,” Flowers said. “So I think in that way, maybe they would be benefited by a math where everything is standardized. But if you’re not a good test taker and if you’ve been mostly relying on having second chances or relying on asking questions in class, I think it’d be bad for that specific type of student. ” 

Like Catizone, lower Miyu Nakamura has viewed the policy change as a source for motivation. “I’ve heard that they’re not allowing retakes. It’s a little hard, but for me, it pushes me to do better.” Nakamura said.

Yet, Nakamura is also cognizant that the sudden change in policy may be a difficult transition for others. “Especially when you’re a new student in a higher grade, I think it might be a little hard to transition,” Nakamura said. 

Marshall noted that the Math Department pilot “is not permanent” and that “individual teachers may determine their own practice.” 

Although other departments, including the History Department, have not yet pursued any pilot programs this term, Instructor in History J. Troy Samuels shared that the department has held discussions around grading and how to implement measures preventing plagiarism. Especially considering the rise in AI writing platforms like ChatGPT, many faculty have discussed implementing more in-class writing assignments.

Samuels said, “Having used ChatGPT a lot, I’m less concerned. I think in the long run, this is an educational opportunity. We’re gonna have to think about how we use [AI]. But I also think that this idea of in-class writing is good, as a pedagogical discussion. It’s a different way of activating your brain, a different way of thinking. It also does remove some of the stress of long research projects.”

“If I assign a hundred pages of reading over two weeks, my assessment should be testing how we’ve come to understand that,” Samuels continued. “Asking you to just sit down and write what you know, what you think, is a really effective way of testing that. Now the question is, how do I assess it? Am I expecting you to write beautiful prose? No, I don’t think that would be fair. But I think that if we focus on learning and not grades, it can be a really good exercise.” 

Although he said he understands that many “students want A’s,” Samuels wishes he could incentivize a yearning for knowledge rather than for grades. He’s not sure if grade deflation is the best way to get there, and he also discusses that he’d be open to exploring the removal of grades in order to get to a place where students are optimizing their resources for authentic learning. 

Either way, Samuels believes that “there is nothing worse” than the entitlement some students may feel towards getting an A, and that many teachers would rather have students who are struggling but genuinely trying to learn, or students “without the expectation of an A [rather] than the ones who expect A’s [for] showing up.”

“We’re all so lucky to teach and to be students at a place like Exeter,” Samuels said. “This is not a normal high school. If you’re always looking for where you’re going next, you’re going to miss where you are right now.”

Despite the lack of an official pilot grading program in the History Department, many students feel that their courses have become more difficult. 

“I know that they’re trying to crack down on inflation in the History Department specifically, but also in the U.S. history sequence. I don’t really know how to feel about it,” Flowers said. “On the one hand, if everyone’s getting A’s then that kind of cheapens the value of an A, and Exeter A’s are hard to come by. It could lower stress for a lot of people, but then [again] it’s just a complicated thing.” 

“Even though the History Department [changes] are not permanent, we should probably get more grace,” Webb said.

Amidst varying student perspectives on the recent changes in grading policies, Samuels emphasized the vitality of learning for the sake of learning at the Academy.

“Success is everywhere,” Samuels said. “It’s more about you and less about these external pieces. It is not easy to redefine things that way, but I would love [for] us to have some critical conversations and really think deeply about what we are preparing you for, what you’re being prepared for here and what it means to be at Exeter.”